Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is very committed to protest Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy bid that he offered to resign from Congress on Thursday night if a faction of Democrats votes with Republicans to allow a more “moderate” Republican member to take power.
appeared on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News ProgramGaetz was asked about his interactions with House Democrats, many of which were captured on film and sparked curiosity online.
“My conversations with Democrats are mostly about making sure they don’t leave the floor for dinner or fundraisers or things like that. We need them to stay there so that the denominator in the speaker selection equation allows us the leverage to advance many of the things we’re discussing,” Gaetz said. If enough Democrats are absent to vote, that could give McCarthy the majority he needs to be a speaker.
Gaetz, who has opposed the California congressman on each of the 11 ballots cast so far, was also asked about former President Donald Trump—whom he strongly supported—throw his support behind McCarthy.
“I love President Trump. I defended him a lot in Congress,” Gaetz said, before criticizing some members of his administration. “But personnel is not always his forte. President Trump has invited us people like Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr and Jim Mattis and Mark Esper — people who haven’t always pushed for America First.”
“So you say he was wrong about this?” Ingraham asked.
“I do. I think President Trump was wrong to endorse Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said, before reaffirming his support for Trump. 2024 campaign.
When Ingraham presented a scenario in which a bipartisan deal was made for a moderate candidate, Gaetz said he wanted nothing to do with it and that it was extremely unlikely anyway.
“These 212 Democrats will vote for Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) each time. He’s a historic contender for them. They won’t separate,” Gaetz said.
Indeed, Jeffries received all of the Democratic votes in every ballot.
“If the Democrats unite to elect a moderate Republican, I will resign from the House. That’s how I’m sure. I can assure viewers that won’t happen.”
Gaetz went on to say that if McCarthy should find a way to yield to the far-right caucus in order to win, he would condemn himself to “a tight coat throughout his term.”
